Effect of the presence of plateau pikas on the ecosystem services of alpine meadows

• Published in: Biogeosciences Vol. 19; no. 18; pp. 4521 - 4532
• Main Authors: Chen, Ying Ying, Yang, Huan, Bao, Gen Sheng, Pang, Xiao Pan, Guo, Zheng Gang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 19.09.2022; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Alpine ecosystems; Alpine environments; Alpine regions; Arid regions; Arid zones; Biodiversity; Biological diversity conservation; Biomass; Carbon; Carbon content; Carbon sequestration; Cold; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Environmental aspects; Grasslands; Herbivores; Influence; Livestock; Maintenance; Mammals; Meadows; Mountain ecology; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Phosphorus; Plateaus; Potassium; Regions; Semi arid areas; Semiarid lands; Semiarid zones; Soil; Soil conservation; Soil nutrients; Soils; Topsoil; Water conservation; Wildlife conservation; Tibetan Plateau
• ISSN: 1726-4189; 1726-4170; 1726-4189
• DOI: 10.5194/bg-19-4521-2022

The activity of small mammalian herbivores influences grassland ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid regions. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) was considered to be a focal organism to investigate the effect of small mammalian herbivores on meadow ecosystem services in alpine regions. In this study, a home-range scale was used to measure the forage available to livestock, water conservation, carbon sequestration and soil nutrient maintenance (total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the topsoil layer, and a quadrat scale was used to assess the biodiversity conservation of alpine meadows. This study showed that the forage available to livestock and water conservation was 19 % and 16 % lower in the presence of plateau pikas than in their absence, and biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, soil nitrogen and phosphorus maintenance was 15 %, 29 %, 10 % and 8.9 % higher in the presence of plateau pikas than in their absence. In contrast, it had no impact on soil potassium maintenance of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions. The forage available to livestock, biodiversity conservation and soil nutrient maintenance of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions had maximum values as the disturbance intensity of plateau pikas increased; the water conservation tended to decrease linearly with the increasing disturbance intensity of plateau pikas. These results present a pattern of plateau pikas influencing the ecosystem services of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions, enriching our understanding of the small mammalian herbivores in relation to grassland ecosystem service.